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Olympic Outsider podcast

Dave Thorvald Olson

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Renegade documentation from the streets of Vancouver at parties, games, events, concerts, protests, and beer gardens. Host Dave Olson AKA Uncle Weed is an experienced Olympic pundit and pioneer of social media at Olympics since Nagano 1998.
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Featuring spontaneous readings and erstwhile discourse from selected literary – from Russians to beats to contemporaries – plus usually smattering of original works by host Dave, often with eclectic assortment of music, and always recorded at splendid locale.
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Riffs about the glory of journals, diaries, notebooks full of musings and importance of turning off inner-critic and not overthinking while savoring the process of transcription, curation and further creative wonderment from Kura barn in provincial Japan. With evidence with my own process. Plus sorta re-cap how far I got about Circumnavigation poet…
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Washing dishes and busted spectacles lead to rowing a lake in Nepal figuring out deity, enlightenment, peace and power with choruses fresh from diaries – plus Royal hospitals, poetic devices and question mark eyebrows. Your turn Buddha, your turn. Don’t climb the mountain: Nepal Stupa Choruses – Postcard #87(39MB, 21:02, 256kbps mp3, stereo)…
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Let’s not lose each other amidst the table cloth being pulled out from under glasses and dishes. Meaning: some technical jibber-jabber about claiming feeds sparks a history of these sporadic, occasional (yet somehow charming, right?) literary dispatches from hand-written XML to various blogs and feeds and meanderings. Plus, about me! My name is Dav…
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Thinking about “going home in October” or even more, going far away from home via freeverse poetry, read directly from scribbled travel scrapbooks and backed by trains from Moncton to Sri Lanka and tuk tuks from Kerala and Thailand, by a weary fella in an olden barn in provincial Japan. Fondly home. Be Lost at … Continue reading Lost the Plot (Find…
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Olympics are over if you want it. Pod’d some thoughts with Vancouver journalist Bob Mackin a few days ago about the lay of the land here in Japan and the cognitive dissonance between Tokyo2020 Olympics on TV and for the people hosting/ paying for it. As such, i call it “The Lonely Olympics”.By Dave Thorvald Olson
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Get your ears on and listen to Tokyo Olympics “scene report” chat with Jody Vance on Vancouver news/talk radio 980AM from July 12th afternoon PST, July 13th 9-ish AM JST. A few notes to go with: Covered a lot of ground but so much more. Looking forward to keeping you up-to-date from regular folks’ point … Continue reading Countdown to Tokyo 202x Ol…
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theBreaker.news Podcast: Five-ring circus controversy in Japan and China I talked about the Tokyo Olympics with Bob Mackin – who I first connected with leading up to the Vancouver 2010 Olympics when he did an article featuring Kris Krüg and I talking about citizen documentation campaign which eventually became True North Media House. This segment ……
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Oh listen… i talked about Tokyo Olympics and various conundrums with Jody Vance on CKNW AM Radio in Vancouver. Wanted to share the feelings of deceit and frustration the the residents of Japan are feeling with IOC’s demands for “sacrifice”, more doctors, volunteers and threats of penalties if cancelled/delayed. Suggestions: delay until Oct or later…
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A heart-wrenching poem about an abducted boy called Simon – who lived nearby, was my age and sorta looked like me – in Surrey, BC 1982 – by the “Beast of BC” Clifford Robert Olson (NO relation). Recorded and contributed to Dark Poutine Canadian True Crime podcast – shared here for posterity etc. RIP Simon and the … Continue reading Simon, Stolen, S…
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Along his namesake trail on banks of Lynn Creek comes story of Group of 7 bohemian painter Frederick Varley’s 10 wild years in Vancouver teaching and founding art schools, developing new aesthetics and shacking up in an $8 mountain home with mistress. Bring your own brushes: Upon the Varley Trail – Postcard #83 (30MB, 20:50, mp3, … Continue reading…
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Love in (most) all forms – from self to romance to heartbreak – explored through poems including: mis-quote from (probably not) Jack Kerouac, Khalil Gibran advising his son, Mary Oliver reminding to trust, (Angela) Anaïs (Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira) Nin’s recklessness, Leonard Cohen recalling flowers to a shy lover, Katie Buemann picking up a swo…
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Full of mis-spoken words, forgotten names and other sloppiness comes annotated thoughts (squished through time and space) for shut-ins, drifters and sufferers amidst erstwhile festive melancholy times of disruption and tumult, including poems – read alongside mosquito and rooster sounds – by: Sohaib Ahmed Alan Halsey Charles Bukowski David Smalley …
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Upon turning 70 years old, Dave’s dear sensei (since a teenage Utah community college stint), Larry Harper (among various monikers) curated 70 items of advice (at request of Annie Dandelion). As such, between licks by Grateful Dead and master potter Marty Kendall, he riffs the list – ranging from practical to mystical to almost comical, … Continue …
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Float to Istanbul, Muscat and elsewhere, and check in with Cleopatra, Shakespeare, Francis Drake, Shah of Persia, Adam, Cain, Abel, Lawrence, Ataturk, Czars Nicholas and Alexander, Matt Harding, Russia oligarchs, well-fed stray cats, unidentified shortwave broadcasts, Abraham, Norman, Matt Harding, rowers, drummers, a blonde dog and you and me… fin…
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Disappearing, invisibility, loneliness, depression, anxiety, being lost, trying to not be found, trying to find white space to invigorate… Sometimes these weave together, other times (perhaps) each remain exclusive. Gord Downie, Jack Kerouac, Charles Bukowski and me all try to figure out the nuance in different ways atop Turkish street music, train…
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In hospital with sedated Grandpa, Dave reads complete “Letters from Russia” epistolary literature project with frequent interruptions from visitors, nurses and medical apparatus. The letters address issues of class, revolutions, monarchy, war, trade, and love in the context of Napoleon’s foray into Russia in 1812 through letters from a cobbler to h…
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Puffing along a trail recounting leaving cold, miserable London en route to post-hurricane Florida with flashbacks to working in Rheinplatz grade fields, gathering chestnuts to sell for beer and bread money, strange encampments at Oktoberfest, and hitchhiking to Amsterdam with gaggle of pals. To London by ferry and rapid exit via cheap flight Flori…
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Amidst a thunderstorm at 4AM on a balcony in Chiang Mai, Dave discusses – with excessive frankness and emotion – various medical conundrums (Fibromyalgia and CFS-ME) and details the physical feelings of “crash mode” as well as the mental strain in dealing with self de-identification and inter-personal relationships, confusion in seeking help, and v…
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Ship-to-shore transmissions with shortwave broadcasts from elusive listening posts, soundscapes from slow ships, and freeverse poetry about unanswered communiques, transitory conditions, arbitrary citizenships, invented geography, de-identification, and intentional disappearance. Features music: “Dream World” by Matt Harding from NYOSSS (New York, …
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On a forgotten forest walk, Dave riffs a story about first trip to Europe – starting with trying not to puke over an Amsterdam bridge after a meeting new temporary coffee shop pals – with flashback to Mexican desert trips with Grandpa, LSD trips with VW bus-fixing pals, and family Grateful Dead road trip to … Continue reading Eyes Towards Europe – …
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Paying poetic respects to recently deceased Grandpa in a rainforest with Walt Whitman, Charles Baudelaire, Chief Dan George and original works inspired by the globe rambling, oddly charming, big fish – while official funeral happening elsewhere. Originally recorded: May 13, 2006 Sit on a tree by the river: (Poetic Farewell to) Ole Dead Gramps – Pos…
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First reflecting on Funiculars, Dave then reads works by poet friends from far-flung points including: Sohaib Ahmed recounting escaped love and lights, Adam Burningham examining towns atop streams, Amber Case on a languid roadtrip, and Robert Scales appreciating a sunrise and oblivion – plus music by guitarist Matt Harding and a rainstorm, crickets…
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Returning to Japan for the first time since working as a mushroom farmer in the Tottori-ken mountains decades previous, Dave rambles on about the circumstance – then and now – while wandering near his pal’s goat farm. Riffs include: arriving in the snow and getting settled, bailing on job, hitch-hiking around islands, falling in love(ish), eating ……
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What becomes of the seemingly ephemeral creations we leave behind? Especially in the analog-days? Consider these in the context of missing cassette tapes made by a now departed poet/activist/scholar Foster and guitar-ing Mikael, who recorded spontaneous youthful riffs in parent’s basement in Utah. In this postcard, Mikael Lewis sings “Wildflower (f…
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Changing routes to think about the neighbourhoods – this Postcard is about rolling transit, everyplace and anywhere. Evidence comes in a transit route inspired spoken-word song and a smattering of poems including: odes to drivers, forgotten literary neighbourhoods, angry passengers, observed newspapers around Vancouver… plus a bit of Clayton the bu…
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Amongst Nepal’s western Himalaya mountains comes poems about donkey trains hauling supplies, buffalos giving milk, porters hauling excess for misguided dreamers, monks with timeless chants, sunrise over mighty peaks, prayer wheels alongside trails to evoke the feeling of clambering along ancient stone paths shared with goats and farmers growing ric…
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Life in hotels, wandering alone and often blue and then the death of friends all converge in a series of poems including a song by Mikael Lewis about waiting for love in a Victorian hotel. Then, from the streets of Rome with a cappuccino comes a series about departed Rod H. Ash, including “Time Traveller” … Continue reading Lonely Cold Water Flat –…
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When I was growing up, Dad often spoke of his Chevy Malibu SS – his favourite car. So, while on his death bed, I asked him to tell the story. He speaks about acquiring the vehicle, the budget, the deal, the financing terms and oh, also about the car and how he enjoyed having a … Continue reading Dad’s Malibu Super Sport – Postcard #65 →…
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In tumultuous and confusing times, optimism and activism are the powerful antidotes for cynicism and fear. Two Bills share songs to assist in making this point. First B/William Lenker plays a spontaneous Squatters in Zion from his Steamboat Island woodshop, then Dave spiels about courageous – and sadly deceased Olympian – Rachel Corrie, followed by…
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From an olden church and (otherwise vacant) cenotaph at Fort Cochin, Kerala, India, Dave O – acknowledging an extended medical and death related hiatus – discusses the local history of colonization by Portuguese explorers, Dutch traders, then British Raj in the context of the colonization leading to exploitation, conscription and war with no meanin…
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Leading up to the 1 year anniversary of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, I appeared in a short segment on a Vancouver radio station News 1130 for an Olympic flashback series to examine the legacies + discussed social media as a whole and covering the Games. Listen: One Year After Olympics on News 1130 – Olympic Outsider … Continue reading One Year Afte…
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Poet Randall Maggs discusses his book “Night Work” about the troubled soul of legendary hockey goalie Terry Sawchuk plus the nuances of story-telling, conversations with goaltenders, Sawchuk’s Ukrainian heritage and convergence of history and hockey with host Dave Thorvald Olson at the Robson Square covered outdoor rink in Vancouver following a poe…
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Bring your own mic for: Citizen Media Making at Vancouver Olympics – Dave on CBC Radio One – Olympic Outsider #29 (.mp3, 5:40) On a busy night during the Olympics, i headed over to Canada North hospitality house with a group of True North Media House documenters. Tagging along was a CBC crew including the charming reporter … Continue reading Citize…
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Listen: Singing Goose from Canada’s North – Olympic Outsider #28 (.mp3, 8:40) At Canada’s Northern House, Dave gets schooled on life in Inuvut NWT by singer Leanne Goose including igloo church, endless days and night, Muktuk and Mukluks plus schools, stores, medical care, shopping at the end of the Dempster highway. More Singing Goose: http://www.l…
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Don’t believe everything you hear: Legend of Muk Muk with Mr. Mann – Olympic Outsider #26 (.mp3, 4:20) At Canada’s Northern House, Dave enjoys Boris Mann’s annotations about the legendary delicacy of muk muk and thoughts about flying Saskatchewanians, neglected cultures, hospitality houses with tasty food and recollections of Torino 2006. Subscribe…
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Wake up early for beer and gold: Gold Medal Sunday Morning – Olympic Outsider #26 (.mp3, 7:22) On the final official day of the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, Dave steps outside during the 2nd intermission of the gold medal men’s hockey game between Canada and USA to recap the previous days and look ahead to … Continue reading Gold Medal Sunday…
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Take a Lap for: Final Olympic Lap from the Ozone – Olympic Outsider #25 (.mp3, 8:50) From the Richmond Ozone after a stint at the Heineken Holland House, Dave recaps Canada’s huge medal haul with @theWoodduck in between sets by The Dudes and The Stills. Topics include snowboard, speed skating, hockey and beer. Subscribe: Olympic Outsider … Continue…
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Cross the inlet for: Oly-nomics and Goodtimes w/ Hammer Bob – Olympic Outsider #24 (.mp3, 14:06) On the Seabus, Dave talks with accredited reporter and Olympic veteran Bob “The Hammer” Mackin about narrative around the Games, controversy about costs, ROI, government grandstanding, VANOC’s manner of acting, and sports which blew him away. Subscribe:…
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Survive the experience: Share the Land and Survive the Slovakians – Olympic Outsider #23 (.mp3, 8:31) With scant days remaining, Dave takes a break in the 2nd intermission of Canada vs Slovakia to recap a perfect 24 hours of hockey, perogies, medals, bobsleigh, Burton Cummings, and the great feeling of kindness in the city of … Continue reading Sha…
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Be your own media: Festive Bunting and White Tents (lost preview) – Olympic Outsider #22 Streetside observations before the Olympics started including documentation of street art, city changes, graphic design and hospitality under construction while city workers hang Winter Games flags on street light poles on East Hastings St. Subscribe: Olympic O…
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Be a guest for: Interviewed by JMV at Flickr meetup – Olympic Outsider #21 (.mp3, 3:30) Transit and craft enthusiast Jason Vanderhill interviews Dave O at the Flickr/Yahoo meetup at the Mini building in Yaletown and they discuss highlights, hockey, hospitality, Seabus, having a beer in the park and give thanks to Belgians. Photo by … Continue readi…
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Choose your Viking for: Blondes in Viking Helmets etc. – Olympic Outsider #20 (.mp3, 9:04) An update at the end of Super Sunday from the noisy concourse of Canada Hockey Place in the 2nd intermission of Sweden vs Finland hockey game. Topics include hockey, regrouping, Vancouver’s culture, exhaustion, food and beverages. Subscribe: Olympic Outsider …
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Learn your map for: Northern Canada geography lesson – Olympic Outsider #19 (.mp3, 5:36) Visiting with a cultural ambassador at Canada’s Northern House, Dave learns about geography and cultures of Canada’s 3 Northern Territories at the cultural hospitality house including narwahls, attendance, objectives and tourism. Subscribe: Olympic Outsider pod…
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Drink your fill for: Lunch with Gord and his new Dark Beer – Olympic Outsider #18 (.mp3, 9:09) Post-lunch chat with master brewer Gord Rickards about his new dark lager including the process for creating a new variety, plus comparing tastes across Canada, the joys of seeing your name on a bottle, and his good … Continue reading Lunch with Gord and …
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Wear your King ring for: Observations on Latvian Hockey and Poets – Olympic Outsider #17 (.mp3, 7:19) From the Latvia vs Slovakia Men’s Ice Hockey game at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, Dave points out the passion of Latvian hockey fans and anecdotes about flags, dissident poets, king’s rings and visiting dignitaries during the … Continue…
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Take the shortcut for: G’night Shiny Vancouver – Olympic Outsider #16 (.mp3, 5:48) Descriptions and miscellaneous observations about Vancouver’s reaction and interactions with the Olympic Winter Games including recent expeditions, urban transformation, international hospitality and transportation logistics while walking through the park en route to…
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Laminate your badge for: Intrepid Olympic Documentation – Olympic Outsider #15 (.mp3, 6:02) Photographer John Biehler is documenting the Olympics as a BCIMC & TNMH accredited reporter covering protests, openings, cultural and hospitality houses, and other “besides the Olympics” events. He speaks about his workflow, public reaction and personal sati…
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Book your ice time for: Hockey talk from the Winter Club with Guy Kawasaki and Pals – Olympic Outsider #14 (.mp3, 17:32) Almost 12 hours since I was in a hockey rink, now Thursday morning, I guess this must be day 7 of the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Early morning at the North Shore Winter Club to … Continue reading Hockey talk from the Winter Club …
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Find appropriate hospitality house for: Recapping Olympic Hospitality and Reaction – Olympic Outsider #13 (.mp3, 19:06) En route to Canada Hockey place for Russia vs. Latvia men’s hockey, Dave recaps the first 4-5 days of the Olympics and observations about protests, weather, public reaction, foibles and surprises and tips for goodtimes along the w…
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Listen: The Torch is Nigh! – Olympic Outsider #12 (.mp3, 4:05) With the torch arriving, Dave continues describing the scene at the intersection of Main and Hastings including red tents in front of the Carnegie Library and the logistics of crowd control of a moveable torch parade coming across protesters. Subscribe: Olympic Outsider podcast feed…
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